Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

The opposition supports this amendment because it seeks to in fact broaden the coverage of ITEAs. It is very interesting to observe that in circumstances where Senator Wong has been saying, ‘This legislation puts down our election commitments, pure and simple,’ the very first amendment that the Rudd Labor government has to move to its industrial relations legislation is in fact an amendment to broaden the coverage of these new—for want of a better term—Australian workplace agreements. They started off as narrow as possible, but reality finally mugged them. They came creeping in here only an hour ago with a raft of two dozen amendments and 15 pages of explanatory memorandum. The very first thing they do is expand the coverage of these now interim workplace agreements.

It is very interesting to see this minister, who was so vitriolic during general questioning on this legislation, come in here and move the very first amendment to in fact broaden the coverage and accept more and more of that which she sought to deny the Australian people. We hope—and this is why we as an opposition are supporting it—this will reduce the negative impact on Australian workers. The minister refused, time and again during general questioning, to give a guarantee that no worker would be worse off as a result of this legislation. It is now quite clear that many workers will be worse off as a result of Labor’s proposed legislation, but its very first amendment will ensure that that negative impact is in fact lessened. It is on that basis that we as the opposition support the amendment.